Medical tablet container



Dec. 20, 1960 G. B. KIDWELL MEDICAL TABLET CONTAINER Filed Sept. 18, 1959 PHYSICIAN MEDIE ATIUN Fig. 7

I N VENTOR Gaylord li/l zdwell ATTORNEY 2 MEDICAL TABLET CONTAINER Gaylord B. Kidwell, 5024- 34th Road N., Arlington, Va.

Filed Sept. 18, 1959, Ser. No. 840,984

7 Claims. (Cl. 206-42) (Granted under Title 35, US. Code (1952), see. 266) The invention described herein, if patented, may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes, without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

The present invention relates to a medical tablet container. It has to do particularly, but, of course, not exclusively, with an improved container or phial-like holder for glyceryl trinitrate tablets and the like which are carried constantly by most cardiac sufferers for emergency self-treatment. While designed, shaped and proportioned for use in the carrying and hand-dispensing of medical tablets, dragees, etc., the container of the present invention is equally well adapted for holding and dispensing candy articles, pills and the like.

As is known, it is very important, in the handling, packaging and carrying-for-use of medical tablets for cardiac sufferers, to protect them from the so-called powdering or dusting ofif action to which they would be subjected if they were packaged loosely in a con tainer. For this purpose, it is customary to stun a plug of wadding, such as cotton, into the bottle or phial of tablets to fill the space below the stopper and thus prevent the tablets from being shifted about. This was not wholly satisfactory since powdering or dusting off occurred, and the manufacturers of pharmaceuticals were forced to employ glass tube-like bottles or phials which have an inside diameter only slightly in excess of the over-all diameter of the tablets to be placed therein. The latter represents the current practice in this specialized field.

Moreover, since the cardiac sufferer must carry the emergency medicine on his person at all times, it is important, in the case of a male patient, that he have a package, or container, which is not only preferably breakproof and one in which the tablets will not powder but one which is small enough and thin enough so that it can be inserted in, carried by, and quickly removed from his billfold or wallet; and in the case of a female patient, one which is small enough, etc., to be easily placed in and carried in a pocket, or compartment of her purse.

It is, therefore, an important object of the instant invention to provide a new and improved medical tablet container and dispenser of novel and unique construction which is relatively thin and streamlined, permitting it to be inserted into a billfold or wallet, or in the pocket of a purse, along with identification cards and the like, Without adding any noticeable bulk to the contents of said billfold; another object being to provide such a container having means incorporated in the removable closure therefor which will maintain the medical tablets in a columnar arrangement against the undesirable dusting off or powdering.

A further object of the invention is to provide a new and improved container as aforesaid which is ornamental, which presents no sharp or pointed corners to hinder its insertion into a billfold or pocket, nor to damage other articles located therein; one in which there is no danger 2,965,222 Patented Dec. 20, 1960 of accidentally loosening the closure cap or stopper; and one which is capable of being manufactured from plastic material and the like at low cost and by mass produo tion methods.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the present invention will appear from the following description and app-ended claims when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several views.

In said drawing:

Figure l is an exploded perspective view of the medical tablet container and dispenser, showing the closure member or stopper removed;

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the same;

Figure 3 is a side edge view of the container of Figures l and 2;

Figure 4 is a vertical section taken substantially along the line 4-4 of Figure 5, but with the closure cap removed, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 5 is a vertical sectional view, partly in elevation, of the container, taken substantially through the center thereof, revealing the cavity with a stack of tablets therein.

Figure 6 is a top plan view of the top or upper end of the container of the preceding views, with the closure or stopper removed; and

Figure 7 is a horizontal sectional view taken substantially along the line 7-7 of Figure 2, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Before explaining in detail the present invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawing, since the invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways. It is to be understood also that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation, and it is not intended to limit the invention claimed herein beyond the requirements of the prior art.

Referring now to the drawing, the container and dispenser of the present invention is shown as a whole at 8. It comprises a body portion 9 which is formed from any suitable non-breakable material such, for example, as plastic, which may be of amber color to exclude light. The front and rear faces of the body portion, as shown, are tapered outwardly in opposite directions as indicated at 9a, see particularly Figs. 1, 6 and 7. The body portion has a short dimension bottom or lower wall edge 10, substantially parallel long dimension side wall edges 11 toward which the front and rear faces are tapered, and a top wall or edge '12 which has inwardly and downwardly converging portions 12, see particularly Figs. 1, 2, and 5. The four corners of the body are preferably rounded as indicated at 13 to provide for easy insertion into the pocket of a billfold, or the like, without damage to any papers or cards that may already be located within said pocket.

The inwardly and downwardly tapered top edges or wall portions 12 extend from the rounded corners 13 to the approximate center of the body portion 9 and terminate at and define a longitudinal bore or cavity 14 in said body portion. The cavity or pocket 14 is adapted to receive and protect, for authorized easy hand dispensing, a plurality of medical tablets T, see Fig. 5. As shown, the cavity 14 extends inwardly from the top edge 12 to a point slightly beyond the longitudinal center of the body 9. This depth or length of cavity can, of course, be varied in accordance with the quantity of stacked tablets or pills T which the container may be designed to hold. The upper end portion or neck of the cavity 14 is internally threaded at 15 for the reception of a removable container closure cap or stopper 16 whose body portion is externally threaded at 3.7.

The stopper or closure 16 is preferably formed from plastic material similar to that from which the body 9 is formed and, as shown, is provided with a projecting flexible spiral-like portion 13 which, when the stopper is threaded into the neck cavity 14, depends or extends inwardly or downwardly so as to engage the topmost tablet of a column of tablets T. it is to be understood that the extension or projection 18 is sufiiciently flexible to expand and thus come in contact with the topmost tablet T even after some of said tablets have been removed or dispensed. In other words, the spiral is is of a spring-like nature and serves to prevent shifting of tablets within the cavity. It thus eliminates the undesirable powdering or dusting off of the material of the tablets. This is extremely important for the reason that the particular type of medical tablets located in the cavity 14 have been very accurately and minutely prescribed by the physician as to dosage so as to fit the particular individual requirements of the cardiac sufferer who is in possession of the container. it will be understood, of course, that such flexible member 18 completely supplants the heretofore employed wad of loose cotton which was stuffed into the neck of a bottle or phial containing tablets, pills, and the like.

The face of the body may be provided with a depressed panel or portion 15% adapted to receive a label containing indicia Lidia which indicia indicates the name of the cardiac sufferer, the dosage, the name of the prescribing physician and the particuiar medication prescribed.

T he front face of the container is also provided, in the region of the cavity 14, with a preferably embossed reddish ornamental simulated heart Ztl to indicate, for example, that the medical tablets within the container are for the treatment of a cardiac condition. If desired, a similar heart may be embossed, or otherwise provided, on the opposite face of the body portion 9.

Some users of the container of the present invention may not wish to carry the container in their billfold, Wallet, or purse, but may prefer, for example, to attach it to a key chain, or the like. To permit this manner of carrying the container there is provided, preferably in the upper right-hand corner, a hole or opening 21 which provides means for the reception of a key chain, or ring to be attached to a key chain, if and when desirable.

While one preferred shape of the container has been illustrated in the accompanying drawing, it will be understood that the container may assume various other shapes. It is extremely important to maintain the thickness of the container body 9 from its front face to the back face thereof as thin as possible and thus eliminate bnlkiness when carried in the patients billfold, wallet, or purse, as the case may be. In other words, the outside diameter or thickness, front to back of the body portion 9, should be only slightly greater than the diameter of the cavity 14.

it is to be noted that another important feature of the present invention resides in the positioning and proportioning of the removable cap or stopper 16. In order that this cap may not protrude beyond the outside outline of the container body walls, it is so proportioned and designed as to fit within the space between the neck portion 15 of the tablet-containing cavity and an imaginary horizontal line which would bridge the space between the top surfaces of the upper pair of rounded corners 13, 13. Thus, the stopper 16, being so located, presents a streamlined article free of any projecting portion which otherwise might present an obstacle and thus a deterrent to the act of inserting the container in a pocket, or in removing the same therefrom.

Some users may prefer to carry the container of the present invention in the pocket of a coat, vest, or in a pair of trousers rather than in a billfold, wallet, or purse. Because of the new and novel construction of the present container, this can be done. Whereas, the use of some suitable plastic material has been mentioned as being desirable for the manufacture of the container, it will be understood, of course, that it can be made from various other, preferably non-breakable, materials; or, even from glass.

I claim:

1. in a medical tablet container, the combination of a relatively thin solid body portion having side and end walls with rounded corners and a longitudinal tablet-receiving cavity formed therein midway between the side walls thereof, said cavity being in communication with an unobstructed end wall of said solid body portion and extending into the body to a point approximating the longitudinal center thereof, said body also having a key chainreceiving opening therein at a corner thereof, the end wall with the cavity termination tapering inwardly from opposite rounded corners in converging relationship to provide a depression at said point of the cavity termination, and a removable closure for said cavity disposed in a plane below the plane of said rounded corners, the thickness of said solid body portion being only minutely greater than the diameter of said longitudinal cavity, whereby to reduce its bulk and permit the container to be conveniently inserted in a pocket of a billfold or purse.

2. in a medical tablet container, the combination of a relatively thin substantially oblong solid body portion having side and end walls, one of said end walls having an unobstructed concave curved surface extending between the side walls, said solid body portion having a tabletreceiving cavity extending from the unobstructed concave curved end wall surface into the body longitudinally thereof to a point intermediate the end walls, and a removable stopper for said cavity lying within the area between the curved end wall surface and an imaginary line on a plane spanning the space between said end walls, the thickness of said solid body portion being only minutely greater than the diameter of said longitudinal cavity whereby to reduce its bulk and adapt the container for convenient insertion in a billfold or purse.

3. A medical tablet container in accordance with claim 1, wherein the solid body portion is tapered outwardly in opposite directions from said cavity toward said side wal s.

4. A medical tablet container according to claim 2, wherein said solid body portion is tapered outwardly in opposite directions from the area of the cavity to said side walls.

5. In a medical tablet container, the combination of a relatively thin substantially oblong body portion having side and end walls, one of said end walls having a concave curved surface extending between the side walls, said body portion having a tablet-receiving cavity extending from the concave curved end wall surface into the body longitudinally thereof to a point intermediate the end walls, and a removable stopper for said cavity lying within the area between the curved end wall surface and an imaginary line on a plane spanning the space between said end walls, the thickness of said body portion being only minutely greater than the diameter of said longitudinal cavity whereby to adapt the container for convenient insertion in a billfold or purse, said removable stopper having a depending flexible extension projecting into the cavity to engage the topmost tablet of a column of tablets within the tablet-receiving cavity to prevent shifting thereof.

6. In a medical tablet container, the combination of a relatively thin substantially oblong body portion having side and end walls, one of said end walls having a concave curved surface extending between the side walls, said body portion having a tablet-receiving cavity extending from the concave curved end wall surface into the body longitudinally thereof to a point intermediate the end wails, and a removable stopper for said cavity lying within the area between the curved end wall surface and an imaginary line on aplane spanning the space between said end walls, the thickness of said body portion being only minutely greater than the diameter of said longitudinal cavity whereby to adapt the container for convenient insertion in a blllfold or purse, said removable stopper being formed from plastic, and the lead end of the stopper having a flexible spirally arranged extension for contacting a column of tablets within the tablet-receiving cavity in the body portion.

7. In a medical tablet container the combination of a relatively thin substantially oblong body portion having side and end walls, one of said end walls having a concave curved surface extending between the side walls, said body portion having a tablet-receiving cavity ex tending from the concave curved end wall surface into the body longitudinally thereof to a point intermediate the end walls, and a removable stopper for said cavity lying within the area between the curved end wall surface and an imaginary line on a plane spanning the space between said end walls, the thickness of said body portion being only minutely greater than the diameter of said longitudinal cavity whereby to adapt the container for convenient insertion in a billfold of purse, said body portion having a key chain-receiving aperture formed therein, said removable stopper having a flexible extension into the cavity to contact a column of tablets located therein to prevent the unauthorized movement thereof, and a face of said body portion being provided with ornamentation and having an indicia-rece iving area both of which pertain to the nature of the contents of said tablet container.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,554,397 Beldam Sept. 22, 1925 1,744,328 Morley Ian. 21, 1930 2,060,406 Tiede Nov. 10, 1936 2,750,066 Shekter June 12, 1956 

